2013 Pictures of the Year

CAUGHT RED-HANDEDAug. 24The hands of Seattle Seahawks center Max Unger, photographed at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center in Renton, show the toll the game can take.I’ve shot many portraits of Seahawks in my five years of covering the team. But this was the first time I focused in on what is arguably the most important part of a football player: the hands. The idea was to take an intimate view of what the hands of key players looked like, and how they use them in their craft. We chose a good cross-section of players from different positions. Max Unger, the team’s star center, had one of the most interesting sets of hands. When he walked into my makeshift studio on the team’s practice field, I saw that they were weathered and rough, and that fingers on his left hand were taped. Using a football as my only prop, I asked Unger to grasp it with both hands along the top seam. It was a simple photo, but it spoke to the unique character and importance of this part of professional athletes. — John Lok